4 ms·

I'm going to repost my comment here, because I cannot read blogs that have Trackbacks in their comments: If the used game market goes away, so do AAA titles. Y

I'm going to repost my comment here, because I cannot read blogs that have Trackbacks in their comments: If the used game market goes away, so do AAA titles. You cannot have the risk mitigation of resale in digital distribution. Plus, the console makers control the pipe to their machine. With physical distribution, you can play GameStop off of Target off of Best Buy off of Walmart. I like Dave, but he uses the same example of a hidden camera showing a GameStop rep pushing new buyers to used product every time he speaks. There’s no rigor to the objection. Yes, I’m biased. But I did this analysis before I started Dawdle, and no one wants to give Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo the same power that the music industry gave to Apple.

dantheman 18y ago
I don't quite follow your argument about AAA titles going away -- how does the sale of used games help the game developer? how does it encourage them to make them?
- nihilocrat 18y ago
  That would probably be the "risk mitigation". In simpler terms, I think he means "people are more likely to buy a (AAA, thus probably $50+) game if they know they could sell it used and recoup some cost if they end up not liking it, grow tired of it, etc.". The AAA gaming market is already pretty fragile, as the games cost so much, the production values are ridiculous, and so on. It's a very hit-or-miss industry, where a partial success is a financial failure and blockbusters are what keep companies afloat.
- sachinag 18y ago
  It reduces the risk for the buyer. A buyer bears less risk than the $60 cost of a game because of the resale value of the game. In 2007, there was at least $1 billion in new game sales funded through the proceeds of used game sales (between GameStop data and paid industry research). There's a multiplier effect - game publishers can receive more than $100 in revenue for a given $100 in purchasing power.
  - llimllib 18y ago
    Keynesian video games! Awesome.
  - pkaler 18y ago
    And that's why you are seeing developers find different buyers. There is no point in making games for people that are broke, cheap, or pirates. As a result, developers are moving away from making games for the traditional demographic.

dantheman 18y ago

I don't quite follow your argument about AAA titles going away -- how does the sale of used games help the game developer? how does it encourage them to make them?

nihilocrat 18y ago
That would probably be the "risk mitigation". In simpler terms, I think he means "people are more likely to buy a (AAA, thus probably $50+) game if they know they could sell it used and recoup some cost if they end up not liking it, grow tired of it, etc.". The AAA gaming market is already pretty fragile, as the games cost so much, the production values are ridiculous, and so on. It's a very hit-or-miss industry, where a partial success is a financial failure and blockbusters are what keep companies afloat.
sachinag 18y ago
It reduces the risk for the buyer. A buyer bears less risk than the $60 cost of a game because of the resale value of the game. In 2007, there was at least $1 billion in new game sales funded through the proceeds of used game sales (between GameStop data and paid industry research). There's a multiplier effect - game publishers can receive more than $100 in revenue for a given $100 in purchasing power.
- llimllib 18y ago
  Keynesian video games! Awesome.
- pkaler 18y ago
  And that's why you are seeing developers find different buyers. There is no point in making games for people that are broke, cheap, or pirates. As a result, developers are moving away from making games for the traditional demographic.